Concealed Identity may Reveal Himself as the Preakness Odds Winner

Sheldon Russell will attempt to ride Concealed Identity to a 2011 Preakness Stakes odds victory and he’ll have to do it from the outside, as this horse/jockey combo have drawn the 13th post. Concealed Identity won the May 7th Federico Tesio, running impressively again and seeing his Beyer Speed Figure move north. It doesn’t hurt in the least bit that his sire, Smarty Jones, won the Preakness in dazzling fashion in 2004. He also benefits from home cooking, as those two recent big wins came on this track, so he’s the one horse from the field that is proven at this track. Concealed Identity is listed as a 25-1 longshot to be the winner of this race and he doesn’t seem to be getting much action at Bodog.com.

Concealed Identity will be facing a more qualified field than ever before. While the Tesio win was nice, now he’s facing the Kentucky Derby winner and some other proven Grade 1 performers. He has plenty of work to do, as he just hasn’t run fast enough yet. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 86 for his Tesio win and while that’s nice and represents a career-topper, Animal Kingdom just earned a 103 Beyer for his Kentucky Derby victory, and the average winning Beyer for the Preakness is 109. Don’t look for this horse to hit the board at Pimlico Race course, no matter where his horse racing odds end up by post time.

His recent emergence on the Pimlico surface may give him a little boost in appeal on Saturday evening. With the Kentucky Derby winner, the Kentucky Derby third-place finisher, the beaten Derby favorite, as well as some well-fancied runners who did not go in the Derby, Concealed Identity figures to get pushed to the sidelines by the stronger horses, meaning odds in the vicinity of 30-1 seem imminent. I’m staying away from this pick and I am certain that almost everyone else will too.

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